Santorum touts bowling skills as further proof of blue-collar background

Sheboygan, WI -- Rick Santorumpromised he wouldn't need bumpers when he rolled a few frames at the Lakeshore Lanes here Saturday afternoon.

And he delivered -- three times.

The former Pennsylvania senator got a turkey (three strikes in a row) during a quick game with staffers and his 14-year-old daughter. Before hitting the lanes, Santorum held a rally in a banquet room inside the bowling facility. Toward the end of his speech, he touted his bowling skills as further proof of his blue collar upbringing.

"You compare that to President Obama bowling. I'm not going to need the bumpers," he presumptuously asserted before picking up a bowling ball. "We're going to go out. And you're going to have someone who knows how to bowl, someone who grew up like you grew up, someone who believes what you believe, and someone who will fight like you will fight to make sure this country is free and safe and prosperous."

Santorum was attempting to conjure up images of Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign, when the then-presidential candidate bowled a 37 during a stopat a Pennsylvania bowling lane. Though the GOP hopeful did not get in 10 frames, the score from his three strikes would have well exceeded the Obama's final tally.

It was his second of four stops in the Cheese State on Saturday. The Wisconsin primary April 3 will be an important test of the viability of his campaign, although Santorum has said it is not a must-win.

He was scheduled to be at a brewery in Green Bay, Wis., Saturday night as the Louisiana primary results largely expected to favor Santorum were to come in.

"Go out over the next 10 days and you stand up for freedom," he said. "We will win in Wisconsin. We will this nomination. We will defeat Barack Obama and we will keep America free."